Can these boys beat badminton legends Rashid Sidek and Foo Kok Keong?

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The young stars of the seasonal Petronas short films are back again! This time around, the five multi-racial best friends are challenged by two “uncles” to try and beat them in a friendly badminton match.

Unknown to the kids, the men hogging the neighbourhood badminton court are none other than legendary Malaysian athletes Rashid Sidek and Foo Kok Keong.

With young Joseph and Hakim as their players, the kids try their best to win the match … but the uncles are just too good! Joseph gives up and goes home feeling defeated, but his friends encourage him to pick himself up and try again.

“If Mokhtar Dahari gave up as easily as you, would he be a champion?” asks Hakim.

“What about the Thomas Cup heroes? Rashid Sidek? Foo Kok Keong?” chimes Keong excitedly, not realising that just minutes ago the very same people had played against Joseph and Hakim.

The film, titled Piala Taman Thomas, ends on a positive note, of course, as well as an inspiring message from Rashid and Foo, with the famous song Fikirkan Boleh playing in the background.

Behind the scenes

The four-minute, 16-second video was directed by Ismail Kamarul of Reservoir Production, with Jaz Lee (copywriter) and James Yap (creative director) of Leo Burnett as storymakers.

“Even though this film may seem like a simple film about five kids that want to get this court from seemingly better players, but it is not just about that – it is a reflection of who we are as Malaysians. We need to band together, support each other through thick and thin and believe in ourselves. Never give up in order for us to achieve greatness,” said Ismail in the “making of” video clip.

Piala Taman Thomas premiered on the night of Aug 16 on the Petronas Facebook page – two weeks before Merdeka Day and exactly one month before Malaysia Day.

The inclusion of the two Malaysian badminton stars is also perfect as the 29th SEA Games (KL2017) officially launches on Aug 19 in Kuala Lumpur.